The rain in Spain …

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain… so the saying goes. Well, today we were heading for mountains under blue skies.

On a tour to Ronda we stopped off first for coffee and a wander in the strange little village of Setenile de las Bodegas. Situated in a deep gorge many of the houses are built under the overhanging rocks, and one street was actually a tunnel. A little market with some interesting stalls made it all feel cramped but quaint, and the coffee was very good (and cheap!)

Then on to Ronda, higher in the mountains but again built around a deep gorge. Inhabited by a successions of Romans, Arabs and others its Moorish influence was every where in the architecture and tiles. After an excellent wine and tapas tasting stop we were free to wander and take in the sites of this ancient city. Walking the amazing “new” bridge is one of them, even if the experience of looking straight down into the gorge is a bit daunting.

Sounds of distant thunder followed us as we wandered and when the first raindrops began to fall we decided to explore the Mondragon Palace, a fourteenth century house which now houses a Museum. We were glad we did, not only because of the fascinating exhibitions showing the history of the region from prehistoric times, and the amazing cave systems running through the mountains, but also because of the torrential downpours which followed, which we observed from the windows.

Eventually emerged again under our umbrellas ( thank goodness we had brought them) and navigated the narrow streets which were now rivers. We paddled our way back to the coach and dried off slowly on the journey back to the coast (which was warm and sunny!) Seems like the rain in Spain can reach the mountains too.